Some foreigners who have tried kava describe it as looking and tasting like muddy water, although it has been gaining popularity in tablet form as a mood-enhancing natural remedy in some developed countries.

A study at Australia's University of Queensland this year found kava to be an effective treatment for anxiety.

The study of 60 people - in which half were given kava tablets and half a placebo - found the drink had a beneficial effect on wellbeing.

"We found the people taking the kava did [experience] a very strong anxiety-reducing effect and we also found their mood was elevated significantly," said Jerome Sarris, who led the study.

Sarris said there were no indications during the trial of any adverse health problems from the water-soluble extract of kava, although there have been concerns about the effects of heavy, long-term use.

The mood-enhancing effects of kava were increasingly recognised in developed countries in the 1990s and by the beginning of the current decade kava exports from Pacific countries had grown to around $200 million (US) a year.

Kava extract pills gained wide popularity in Western markets including Europe - especially Germany - and the United States until reports of a few cases of severe liver problems in users saw bans introduced in Europe in 2002.

Exports were slashed overnight, although subsequent tests have suggested that the problems could lie with the use of ethanol or acetone to extract the active ingredient from the plant and the use by some manufacturers of parts other than the roots.

Despite the controversy, kava extracts have been gaining in popularity in the United States, and in recent years a number of fashionable kava drinking lounges have opened there.

But the debate means little to the kava drinkers at Salelologa market.

"I see the kava circle as a meeting place for me and my friends from all over the island. Sometimes there's new people, but the same old guys stay until they die. Then the new generation of kava drinkers emerge," said Tiatia.